1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure is directed to an improved metal seal ring that is used to establish a sealed connection between two mating components.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many industries, a sealing connection must be established between two mating tubular components. In some applications, the sealing connection is established by use of a connector that contains a locking means for clamping the hubs of the two components together, with a metal seal positioned therebetween, so as to establish the seal between the two components. The structure and configurations of the hubs, the metal seal and the connector, as well as the mechanisms used to establish the sealing connection between such hubs is vast and varied.
FIG. 1 simplistically depicts one illustrative application in the oil and gas industry where a metal seal ring or seal ring 14 is employed to achieve a sealed connection between two tubular components 12A, 12B. Subsea wells normally have a large tubular wellhead 12A (i.e., a first tubular component) positioned at the sea floor. A riser 12B (i.e., a second tubular component) that extends from the wellhead to the surface, e.g., to a drill ship or a platform, is used during at least drilling operations. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the illustrative riser is but one example of various components that may be coupled to a subsea wellhead. Other examples include, but are not limited to, tubing heads, Christmas trees, etc. The second component 12B is adapted to be sealingly coupled to the wellhead 12A by the use of a simplistically depicted metal seal ring 14 and a hydraulically actuated connector 16. In a subsea application, the metal seal ring 14 must provide a seal that prevents high pressure fluids within the well from escaping to the ocean and provide a seal that prevents ingress of sea water into the well due to external hydrostatic pressure. Typically, the sealing connection between the two components 12A, 12B is established by actuating one or more hydraulic cylinders to force “dogs” into engagement with a profile (e.g., grooves) formed in the outer surface of the wellhead 12A. When installation is complete, the sealing surfaces 14A of the seal ring 14 sealingly engage the components 12A, 12B. Another example from the oil and gas industry is subsea flow lines wherein connections must be made between two tubular shaped flow lines that carry hydrocarbon fluids and gases. Of course, there are many industrial applications where such connections must be established that are not in a subsea environment, e.g., refineries and petrochemical plants, on-shore drilling operations, etc. Additionally, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, there are many forms of tubular components, seals and connectors employed within many industries. Moreover, the vertical orientation of the components 12A/12B shown in FIG. 1 is by way of example only, as they may be oriented in any direction.
The present disclosure is directed to various embodiments of an improved metal seal ring that is used to establish a sealed connection between two mating components.